


kitty rose

by nelomade



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff and Angst, Kinda, M/M, idk how to tag, lowercase for the mood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-23 22:19:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9682358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nelomade/pseuds/nelomade
Summary: keith has a pet cat who he tells everything.everything.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is rly self indulgent lmao tag urself im keith  
> also i've never had a cat (and every cat i've ever met loved me) so idk if they're hell in a tiny package or heaven in a tiny package so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

when he was 18, shiro had gotten him a cat for his graduation. she had pitch black fur with eyes so dark that you couldn't tell what color they were. keith decided to name her rose, due to her nose being such a dark shade of pink.  
being alone with her so much in his small apartment off campus made him grow fond of her. he would wake up in the morning and pad over to her spot in the small cardboard box that was filled nearly to the brim with blankets and fluff from destroyed pillows. she would push her head up, eyes still closed, into his hand that was already reached out. he'd then pick her up and take her to her food and water bowl as he cracked an egg onto a heated pan.  
days like this were his favorite kinds of days.  
*  
days like this were not his favorite kind of days.  
he'd been woken up with the immediate feel of obligation to do something, even though he didn't have any assignments due soon. his body felt heavy, and he still had that crusty feeling on his waterline when he opened his eyes. hell, he could barely brace himself to sit up and put on his contacts that were right next to his lamp, which sat undisturbed on his bedside table. he couldn't even build up the energy to turn his head and see what time it was.  
so he didn't. he stayed in his bed, empty feeling in his chest. at least he tried to. until a black ball of fur rested itself across his eyes, allowing a small smile to make its way across his face.  
"thanks, girl." a small meow could be heard.  
*  
his day. was so. _exhausting._  
first of all, he was late for work, which wouldn't have been too bad (seeing as he was only 6 minutes late) but his boss, sendak, decided to penalize him by making him clean the bathroom after his shift, which made him late to his astrophysics class. secondly, he left his money at home, so he couldn't buy dinner, or anything to make dinner, and his fridge was emptier than his stomach. and he really didn't feel like getting back out of his apartment just to get food that we wasn't going to eat all of and that would go bad by tomorrow.  
so he made cereal with probably expired, but not curdled or bad smelling, milk. he sat down at the couch, allowing the soft, black furball with legs to nestle her head on his black jeans. he no longer gave any shits, and she surely hadn't had any to begin with, so he started talking.  
and she started listening.  
and she couldn't understand a single word that he said.  
and that was okay.  
*  
"welcome to galra grinds, what can i get you today?" keith spoke into the microphone like it was a routine, like it was the best goddamn routine of his life. it was the worst one ever. he hated those words, but they payed his bills, so he couldn't complain.  
"hi," started the man with a clear voice (well, as clear as the microphone outside could deliver) that he could listen to all day, "can i get a venti iced white chocolate mocha with no whip?"  
keith added the order to the tiny screen in front of him and the man outside. "will that be all?"  
"yeah."  
"your total comes up to $5.85."  
he sent out the drink orders and sat on the stool behind him, waiting for the man to drive up. as soon as he did, keith opened the window to see him.  
jesus, he was hot.  
he couldn't get a great look, since he was at a higher elevation than the other male, but keith could tell that he had light brown skin and chestnut hair and holy fuck he was cute.  
"um?" he heard. _shit._ the man's arm was out, holding a credit card.  
"oh shit, i'm so sorry." keith could feel his face growing warmer and warmer. the other man chuckled, muttering a forgiveness phrase. he gathered the payment as the drinks were set next to him. once he was done and handed the drink to the man and watched him drive off, he thought one thing to himself:  
_oh god. i'm never gonna see him again, but fuck i'm gay._  
*  
as soon as keith got home, he refilled rose's bowls and plopped onto his bed, grabbing his laptop from under his pillow. he had a shit ton of work to do.  
seeing rose walk through his bedroom door sent a feeling of calmness through him. she jumped onto his bed and stepped over to his legs, sitting down on his calves  
she was curious about his day.  
"oh my god, rose," keith started, "where the hell do i start."  
he began to fill her in about the shitty thing his boss did today. the curve his astrophysics teacher gave him on an assignment. the funny thing shiro said to allura at dinner.  
the cute boy at the coffee shop drive thru.  
*  
he saw him again.  
keith was walking into his first lecture, taking his usual seat in the back corner where no one else sat. where he had the entire area to spread his books, computer, coffee, water bottle, pens midliners...  
another bag plopped itself next to him.  
_shit_.  
keith moved his head to see who it was that sat next to him.  
the boy. the boy. the boy. the boy the boy the boy the boy theboytheboytheboythebo  
"hey."  
*  
he slammed the door to his apartment, watching a tiny head poke itself over the arm of his dark brown couch. he jumped onto it and looked her straight in the (dark brown? blue? green?) eyes and said, "holy shit. you will not believe what happened."  
and so it began. he started to tell her about how that same cute boy from the coffee shop drive thru sat next to him in his first class, and how he helped him with something he didn't understand, and how his eyes were the nicest shade of blue and went contrasted beautifully with his tan skin, and how his name was lance. _lance_. god, he's gonna have it so rough these next few weeks if he tries to sit with him again.  
*  
it seems like keith's gonna have it rough for a while, because lance has decided to make himself comfortable.  
the next day he went to class, lance sat by him again. and the next day. and the next day. and they didn't even talk much, they just sat by each other and asked for help every now and then, or asked to borrow materials, or asked to go over a thesis, or anything related to class. and the funny thing? they didn't even know each other all that well to have a comfortable silence. normally, if anyone sat by keith, it would be awkward and no words would ever be exchanged.  
but it was comfortable. they didn't need small talk or big talk.  
and keith told rose when he got home. and he told her about his voice. and he told her about his tiny habit of tapping his navy blue painted nails on the side of the table when he was bored. and he told her about how lance always said please and thank you and you're welcome and he was just so overall polite. and he told her about they didn't have regular small talk about the weather, they had tiny conversations about the people in their lives.  
and he could see how rose looked at him like she didn't know what the hell was going on, but she could hear his voice so happy.  
he wondered if it made her happy to see him like this. he hadn't been so ecstatic in a long time. he hasn't had a bad day in a long time, either.  
*  
of course, the blessing in his life had to come with a price, because he woke up the next day with that heavy feeling again. he couldn't even bother going to work.  
so he called in sick. he turned over to see rose out of her bed, laying in the large free area of his queen sized bed.  
"i don't wanna go," he pouted, sticking his bottom lip out. she just moved a little bit closer to his face and curled up, giving him easier access to scratch her head. he did as prompted. 

keith walked into astrophysics, ready to state his apology to coran for being late and interrupting his class. all he did was forgive him, though, and shoo him off to his seat.  
of course, lance was already there when he sat down. and so the lecture went on.

once the class was over, he gathered his things and prepared to go to his next class when he noticed that lance was still there.  
"hey, you okay, dude?" he asked, voice dripping with concern.  
keith's voice wasn't working with him today. he went with a nod.  
"you sure? you've been kinda out of it today."  
another nod.  
"positive?"  
keith shook his head. "dunno, just feelin' kinda tired."  
lance seemed to think for a little.  
an idea?  
"let me take you for coffee once your classes are over."  
"um-"  
"somewhere you _don't_ have to make it."  
he nodded, eyes wide.  
a smile played its way across lance's face. "good. what's your last class? i'll pick you up."  
"math with thace."  
"got it. i'll see you then, pretty boy!" lance skipped out of the room. keith stood there in awe.  
_he called me pretty boy._  
*  
lance was waiting outside his class once he was done.  
"so my friend hunk works at this cafe," he started, immediately trying to make conversation (something he was clearly amazing at). "they sell these really good cappuccinos, and he makes really cute designs on them sometimes. i think once he made a swan? which is really normal to do on a cappuccino, but his looked really cool and-"  
by this time, keith zoned out. he found it really sweet that lance was trying so hard to be his friend. and all keith could think was, _he doesn't have to try so hard_.  
at the cafe ("altean treats" as it was called), lance asked him if he could find a spot while he ordered for them. keith nodded, told him what he wanted, and sat in a booth near the window.  
lance was making conversation with the man who made their coffee. his skin was darker than lance's, and he was big but seemed super nice.  
he was too busy staring off that he didn't notice lance take a seat and set down their drinks carefully.  
they began talking.  
*  
when keith walked into his apartment that night, he apologized to rose for being so late and flopped on his bed. she found a spot in his sight, ready for him to tell her about his day.  
"so we went for coffee tonight," keith started. "he was really sweet. he wouldn't let me pay him back, though. and he bought me a cheese danish. i really like cheese danishes. and he told me that he liked my hair in a ponytail. and we started talking about space. did you know that his favorite shirt is a nasa sweatshirt? he's really cute. he talks a lot though. and his nails are longer than mine. it makes me mad. i wanna grow mine out too, but i keep biting them. should i stop biting them?"  
he looked at her as if asking for an answer, earning a tiny mew from her.  
_i guess that's a yes._  
*  
it became keith's favorite routine.  
everyday, after keith's last class, they would get coffee and just talk. they would tell each other about their days, keith would tell him about conspiracy theories, lance would tell him about his family, and it went on for a month. two months. three months.  
keith noticed his feelings after the fourth. he liked how lance would get so excited when talking about his nieces and nephews. he liked the satisfying taps that lance would create during class when he was bored. he liked how is eyes lit up like the sky when he talks about the cool things his friends make. he liked how he slipped him into his friend group with a short person named pidge and a big teddy bear of a guy named hunk.  
he liked him. and shit, he felt bad for liking him after only a few months of talking to him, but goddamn, he couldn't help it.  
*  
it was on one of their coffee hangouts (date?) when lance said something.  
lance was just talking animatedly when he looked at him. keith was cut out of his thoughts by lance speaking.  
"you still there, keithy boy?"  
"huh-oh, yeah, sorry."  
"hey, can i ask you something?"  
oh shit.  
"sure."  
_oh shit._  
"i really like hanging out with you." _shit._ "like, you're a really great guy." _s h i t._ "and i wanna hang out with you a lot more."  
_wait what._  
"do you wanna be my boyfriend?"  
keith couldn't seem to find his voice. was that a real question? was it a joke?  
"i mean," lance started again, anxiety spilling out of his voice, "i'm sorry, i don't even know if you like boys, but i thought you were cute at the drive thru and i wanted to sit next to you when i saw you in class and you seemed really cool and oh my god this feels so middle school but i've really liked you for a long time and i'm sorry if you don't like boys this is probably just an inconvenience to you i should"  
"yes."  
"what?"  
"i'll be your boyfriend." keith could feel his eyes drying out, since they hadn't blinked since lance asked the question.  
*  
when he said goodbye to lance and walked through his door, his smile wouldn't dare to leave his face.  
"you will not _believe_ what just happened, rose."

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://nelomade.tumblr.com/)   
>  [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/nelomade/)


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